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I said it before, I’ll say it again: why is Romero NOT in the line-up? Supposedly, his promotion was supposed to be an example, that hard work pays off, something of a message to guys who don’t put in the work to improve, for example, their defense (aka Brown).
And, given that Donald is on the DL, Romero has just as much of a chance of winning the utility spot as anyone. Given that we’re cutting salary, it would seem obvious that we’re not going to fork over money for a utility guy that we can bring up through our system.
So, again, why is Carroll playing? I like him just fine, but he serves no purpose in this line-up, not if we’re supposedly looking towards the future.

LACF – first, let it be known, I agree with you, if we’re really going all-out trying to develop our young talent and cut payroll, there is no reason Carroll should be playing (or should have at all since the rosters expanded).
That being said – I think you are preaching to the choir here, we as diehard fans realize these things, but your average fan (the fairweather type, arguably whom make up most of any team’s fanbase) doesn’t. The diehard fans almost always will go to games, win or lose, because they love their team, but to keep those less-ardent fans coming in, you need to be able to produce wins, and as it is, Carroll has one of the best batting averages on the team, consistently puts up solid at-bats, and has solid defense, all of which you know give us a better chance to win.
Should we be playing him if our goal is development of young talent? No. We all know it. There are always other factors at work here, and the desire to keep the fans in the stands undoubtedly has to be a big one for management. Plus, as you said as well, the odds are that we won’t be retaining his services next year. Maybe the team is just throwing him a bone, playing him to give him a little chance to show off, so he’ll get picked up next year by someone. He’s played really hard for us, so while not in the best interests in the long-term, throwing him a bone to help him out like that if we’re not keeping him is at least an answer I could respect.

That’s not what I got from the Romero promotion LACF, though mostly what I’m basing that on is from what I read on indiansprospectinsider … that the reason they promoted Romero was specifically to spell Cabrera at SS without having to move other guys around. That’s also pretty much what the other articles said too. I don’t think Romero is really viewed as a prospect who they’re trying to develop here. I wouldn’t be surprised if they re-sign Carroll, if they don’t think Donald will be available … I didn’t understand promoting Romero at all, when they already had Carroll and I actually see no problem with having Peralta or Valbuena play short (the only infield position Carroll doesn’t play), but whatever

If I’m not mistaken, Shapiro said they brought up Romero to spell Cabrera AND Valbuena, which is why his use so far as been so baffling — he’s done NEITHER.
And maybe that’s why it’s so infuriating, because it’s another example of the FO claiming one thing and doing the opposite. I feel like they’re never really honest with us.
The Tribe signed Carroll to a one year deal for $2.5 million. Carroll has plenty of value on the free agent market, and I don’t see how the Tribe can invest that kind of money in a utility guy, particularly when they can bank that money towards other things (and that was just a 1 year deal — who knows how much a multi-year deal would cost).
I can’t remember where, but I really did read an article that said Romero was chosen as a reward for the level of work he’s put in and as an example for the rest of the system.

I don’t really know how much Carroll can command, 2.5 million is too much to pay unless they think they can win the division next year (78 wins might do it!) As for Romero, I know they specifically said in regards to Brown that they don’t call up players as a “reward” … Personally I don’t care if Carroll’s in the lineup as long as he isn’t taking ABs from Marte or something. I’m sure Wedge would prefer to win a few games down the stretch here, and I can’t argue that he has a better chance with Carroll instead of Romero. Really I wouldn’t be too concerned about the career .250 minor leaguer not getting enough ABs, I’d probably be more concerned if they WERE actually using Romero, after all, if he’s actually left on the 40-man roster, they’re crazy

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